Abstract

A two-dimensional model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack is developed. Taking advantage of the geometrical periodicity of the stack, the model is used to predict the detailed thermal and electrochemical characteristics of the fuel cell. Using recently reported as well as new experimental results, the electrical and thermal contact resistances and modifications in the gas diffusion layer transport properties that develop within the stack in response to changes in the compressive force used to assemble the stack are accounted for. The fuel cell stack performance, reported in terms of its power output and internal temperature distributions, is very sensitive to the compressive load.

Internal temperature distribution (K) for the base case operating conditions and Vcell=0.6V. Results are for: (a) internal regions of a stack; (b) a single cell; (c) the entire computational domain; and (d) the GDL and MEA.

(a) Temperature difference along the membrane centerline as a function of the clamping pressure for different operating conditions, I=7050A∕m2; and (b) temperature difference along the membrane as a function of the clamping pressure for different operating conditions, Vcell=0.6V

Temperature difference along the membrane centerline as a function of the clamping pressure for different channel dimensions, constant current density (I=7050A∕m2), and constant cell potential (Vcell=0.6V)

Copyright in the material you requested is held by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (unless otherwise noted). This email ability is provided as a courtesy, and by using it you agree that you are requesting the material solely for personal, non-commercial use, and that it is subject to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Terms of Use. The information provided in order to email this topic will not be used to send unsolicited email, nor will it be furnished to third parties. Please refer to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Privacy Policy for further information.

Shibboleth is an access management service that provides single sign-on protected resources.
It replaces the multiple user names and passwords necessary to access subscription-based content with a single user name and password that can be entered once per session.
It operates independently of a user's location or IP address.
If your institution uses Shibboleth authentication, please contact your site administrator to receive your user name and password.